What it is
CVE-2020-3992 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting VMware VMware ESXi. OpenSLP as used in VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi_7.0.1-0.0.16850804, 6.7 before ESXi670-202010401-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202010401-SG) has...
Vulnerability report
Exploited in the wild
Confirmed confidence
In CISA KEV
CVE-2020-3992
OpenSLP as used in VMware ESXi has a... Remote Code Execution
VMware / VMware ESXi · VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi_7.0.1-0.0.16850804, 6.7 before ESXi670-202010401-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202010401-SG)
- Severity
- CVSS 9.8 · Critical
- Confidence
- Confirmed
- Exploit status
- Exploited in the wild
- EPSS
- 83.0%
- First observed
- —
- Last observed
- —
Decision summary
What security teams need to know first
Direct answers before the deeper technical record.
Is it exploited?
Yes. KEV Intelligence tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed.
Who is affected?
VMware / VMware ESXi vmware esxi (7.0 before esxi_7.0.1-0.0.16850804, 6.7 before esxi670-202010401-sg, 6.5 before esxi650-202010401-sg).
What should we do?
Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
Overview
OpenSLP as used in VMware ESXi has a... Remote Code Execution
OpenSLP as used in VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi_7.0.1-0.0.16850804, 6.7 before ESXi670-202010401-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202010401-SG) has a use-after-free issue.
A malicious actor residing in the management network who has access to port 427 on an ESXi machine may be able to trigger a use-after-free in the OpenSLP service resulting in remote code execution.
Vendor
Product
Affected
Status
n/a
VMware ESXi
VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi_7.0.1-0.0.16850804, 6.7 before ESXi670-202010401-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202010401-SG)
Affected
- Published
- 20 Oct 2020
- Exploitation Reported
- 03 Nov 2021
- Attack vector
- Remote
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
Tags
malware
cisa
ransomware
CVE References
- CVE Record CVE.org · CVE Record https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-3992
- vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2020-0023.html vmware.com · CVE Record https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2020-0023.html
- zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-1377 zerodayinitiative.com · CVE Record https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-1377/
- zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-1385 zerodayinitiative.com · CVE Record https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-1385/
Exploitation evidence
Why KEV Intelligence marks this CVE as exploited
Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.
Exploited in the wild
CISA
Independent exploitation attestation added to the KEV Intelligence record.
Used in malware
CISA
Malware families have been linked to exploitation of this CVE.
Known exploited vulnerability sources
Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEV Intelligence Pro API.
Learn about Pro API access| Source | Added |
|---|---|
| CISA First | 2021-11-03 00:00 UTC |
| CVE | 2026-08-12 04:21 UTC |
Detection
Operational artifacts and observed signals
Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.
Observed signals
- Request targets
- 0
- User-Agents
- 0
Raw values available in Pro and Enterprise.
Scanner coverage
No scanner integrations recorded yet.
Virtual patch status
No KEV Intelligence virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.
Learn about virtual patches →No detection artifacts or sensor request patterns are available for this CVE yet.
Check back as sensor telemetry and scanner integrations are updated.
Risk and context
Severity, weaknesses, and research context
CVSS v3.1
9.8
Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS
83.0%
Weaknesses
All CVSS Scores
CVSS v3.1
9.8
Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS v2.0
10.0
High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Timeline
From disclosure to observed exploitation
-
KEV confirmed by CVE
Exploitation attested by an external source
-
Added to CISA KEV
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
-
First public exploitation report
Exploit observed in malware
-
CVE published
Vulnerability disclosed publicly
-
CVE ID reserved
Identifier reserved by the CNA
Pro API
Automate this intelligence
Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.
- Evidence confidence and provenance
- First-party sensor telemetry
- PoC and scanner references
- Affected versions and enrichment
- Automation-ready JSON delivery
GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2020-3992
Free JSON includes basic KEV fields{
"cve_id": "CVE-2020-3992",
"confidence": "Confirmed",
"cvss_score": 9.8,
"cvss_estimated": false,
"epss_score": 0.83015,
"exploit_status": {
"exploited_in_the_wild": true,
"active_exploitation_observed": false
},
"sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}Early warning alerts
Get alerts on high-impact exploitation
Receive curator-selected alerts when exploitation activity warrants attention. Each alert includes the evidence and context needed to decide what requires attention now.